Harrison Central rolls past Barnesville, earns district semifinal berth

The Harrison Central boys basketball team is playing its best basketball at the right time.

Coach Nick Yourkovich’s Huskies have won five of their last six games, capped by a 51-35 postseason win Saturday over 10-seed Barnesville in a Division V East District quarterfinal. The 12-seed Huskies took the rubber match behind senior Bryson Kamarec’s game-high 24 points.

“This time of year it is a great feeling to get the opportunity to continue to practice,” Yourkovich said. “From start to finish, this was by far our best defensive effort. The guys paid attention to the details of the scouting report that was put together by our staff and executed it extremely well. This was an excellent win for this team and for our program.”

Barnesville (6-17) and Harrison Central (8-15) split two regular-season meetings, with the Shamrocks winning in January at the ECO Center and the Huskies responding with a mid-February win at Barnesville. Harrison Central appeared comfortable in “The Greenhouse” in what became one of the more physical games of the season.

The final margin was the Huskies’ largest of the year, but the game was tight early. Barnesville led 10-9 after the first quarter, and the teams were tied 16-16 at halftime. Kamarec scored all nine of Harrison Central’s first-quarter points and added nine more in the third.

That third-quarter surge proved decisive as Barnesville struggled to score out of the locker room. The Huskies outscored the Shamrocks 17-8 in the period. A Barnesville scoring drought of more than three minutes late in the third helped Harrison Central push the lead into double digits, and the Huskies pulled away in the fourth.

Kamarec did not score in the final quarter, but Harrison Central received a lift from several teammates. Junior Austin Dulkoski scored all eight of his points in the fourth, providing a spark off the bench. Sophomore Lance Smith scored six of his nine points in the second half. Seniors Brady Hyre and Jacob Quito added baskets in the closing minutes. Hyre finished with seven points, and Quito scored three.

“Bryson kept us afloat offensively in the first half, and then the second half was one of our better halves of offensive team basketball,” Yourkovich said. “Cuts were hard, the ball was moving, and we put the ball in the basket.”

Harrison Central is scheduled to face second-seeded West Muskingum in a district semifinal March 5 at Buckeye Trail High School. The Tornadoes are 19-5 and are considered a contender to reach the state tournament.